COMMUTING: THE BOARD GAME
Physical game themed around commuting, complete with resource management, random cards, and Londoner frustration.

ABOUT
Physical Materials || 2017 || Collaboration
Create a single player board game with meaningful choices, optimum solutions and random elements to create immersion.
Managing resources: energy, money, and time
Paying money each turn
Following a board representing the commuting journey, and throw a die to move
Choosing between several forms of transport, each with different cost but also different speeds (taxi is expensive but fast, bike is free but snow, tube is average)
Picking cards that can be very good... or just plain bad, adding an element of unpredictability to the game.
- - Click HERE to view the rules - -
TEAM
Pauline Martyn: Co-Design, Co-Writing
Amalie Kaeseler: Co-Design, Co-Writing. Please click here to see her portfolio!
DESIGN CHALLENGES
We decided to make a game themed around commuting in London, and all the hazards it entails. We decided to:
Create more than one core mechanic: we designed several mechanics based on managing resources and using tube lines as player journeys.
Use a humorous tone in line with the theme: we wrote cards using our Londoner experience, with some humour thrown in.
Create a challenging but understandable game: after initial playtesting, we realised that the game was too complex for a a small, visually pared down board. To correct this we made a strongly directive board to tell the player exactly what to do at every stage of the way.